The Intersectional Antecedents of a Scarcity Mindset: What Prompts Feelings of “Not Having Enough”?



A scarcity mindset, defined as “a subjective sense of having more needs than resources” (Mullainathan and Shafir 2013, p. 86), has been shown to have various negative impacts on consumer decision-making (e.g., narrowed attention) and behavior (e.g., aggression, materialism, selfishness; see Canon, Goldsmith, and Roux 2019 for a review). Because this mindset can be prompted by both objective (i.e., an actual lack of resources) and subjective (i.e., triggered through environmental cues) occurrences of resource scarcity, individuals throughout the income spectrum can experience a scarcity mindset.

Although researchers have identified multiple consequences of a scarcity mindset, its antecedents, beyond a straightforward lack of resources, have barely been explored (Goldsmith, Roux, and Ma 2018). Given that individuals from any social class or income level can feel as if they “do not have enough,” the main goal of the proposed research is to explore if there are identifiable patterns of individual differences that are more likely to be found in those that regularly experience thoughts of having less. We will thus use an inter-categorical intersectionality framework (Corus et al. 2016; Gopaldas 2013, McCall 2005; Venugopal et al. 2018), to quantitatively identify patterns of intersectional disadvantage (advantage) that may prompt (suppress) a scarcity mindset.

This track builds on previous TCR work to develop research that benefits consumer welfare and quality of life. By better understanding the antecedents of a scarcity mindset, researchers can better address and assist consumers with developing regulation techniques to reduce their perceptions of “not having enough.” Ultimately, we hope this work will give consumers access to enabling mechanisms that will help them manage their scarcity mindset, in order to reduce sub-optimal decisions that may occur under conditions of scarcity.


Track Leaders

L. Lin Ong, Ph.D.
L. Lin Ong, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of International Business and Marketing at the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). Her research interests include market-based strategies to address issues of poverty and access to healthcare, vulnerable consumers, and consumer financial decision making. In addition to her academic work, Dr. Ong also consults with non-governmental organizations involved in international development initiatives.
Caroline Roux, Ph.D.

Caroline Roux, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Concordia University and holds the Concordia University Research Chair in Psychology of Resource Scarcity. Her primary area of research explores how experiencing resource scarcity – feeling as “not having enough” resources (e.g., money, time, food, etc.) – affects consumers’ cognitions, judgment, and behaviour. More broadly, her research interests focus on better understanding how pro-social values and moral considerations influence consumer decision making.

SunAh Kim, Ph.D.

SunAh Kim, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Concordia University. Her research focuses on developing an econometric model to understand the impact of consumers’ and firms’ strategic behaviors. In particular, she is interested in how firms’ marketing activities (e.g., promotions, information alignment) and/or disruptive new business (e.g., sharing economy) influence consumers’ information search costs and strategy.

Marta Caserotti

Marta Caserotti is a Ph.D. student in Psychological Sciences at the University of Padova, Italy. Her research interests include the cognitive consequences of economic scarcity and the investigation of the social implications of inequality in social requests and comparisons.

She is also interested in the analysis of prosocial behavior and in the creation of interventions to help increase charitable donations based on perceptual factors, social variables, and time delays. In addition to her Ph.D. studies, Marta also collaborates with foundations, socially committed organizations, and helps develop fundraising projects.